Southern California -- this just in

Man kicked woman with Down syndrome in the head, prosecutors say

May 30, 2012 | 2:27
pm

A man who was allegedly caught on video kicking his housemate, a woman with Down syndrome, in the head is expected to appear in court Wednesday after being charged with one felony count of dependent adult abuse.

Prosecutors say that in at least one incident, Richard Vu Nguyen, 45, of Garden Grove entered the room of the 45-year-old woman, jumped onto her bed, kicked her in the head and upper torso, and fled.

The act was caught on video after the victim’s family, suspecting abuse, installed a surveillance camera in the woman’s room last year. The beating was caught on video sometime between March and April 2011, prosecutors said.

Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office, said the victim lives with other relatives in a home owned by a family member. She said Nguyen was living in the home because his girlfriend is related to the victim. The motive for the attacks was not immediately clear, Emami said.

Nguyen faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison if convicted.